Chapter Eighty-Seven: Brewing with the Master

Chapter Eighty-Seven: Brewing with the Master

Monday, 29 March 1999

Severus hurried across the grounds. Dumbledore had stopped to chat with Hagrid, who was working in his strawberry patch, but Severus hadn't paused. Poppy had said that she would meet him at seven-thirty, and it was already seven fifty-five. By the time he got to his lab, it would be after eight. He didn't think she'd be worried this time...after all, he'd only gone to the Tyrees, and Dumbledore had been with him. But other than a gloomy corridor, there was nowhere for her to wait outside his lab, which was in one of the deepest, most deserted parts of the dungeons, and he didn't want her having to hang about outside his office like a student hoping to catch a word with him.

As Severus entered the castle, he looked up to see Poppy coming down the stairs towards him.

She smiled. "Good evening, Professor Snape! Did you have success at obtaining the potions ingredient from Professor Birnbaum, then?"

Severus took in a deep breath. "Yes, I did." He held up the small crate. "He gave me a few specimens, in fact."

Poppy nodded and held up her potions basket. "Whilst you were gone, I thought I could begin helping by gathering some of the other ingredients, so I looked up the potion formula. After Professor Sprout brought her students up to the infirmary, we went down to the greenhouses and I gathered some of the needles from her Memory Plant, as well as some fresh Alihotsy leaves, marshmallow root, and beebalm, and I fetched some fresh garlic, too."

Severus smiled. "Very good. Thank you." That would certainly save them some time.

"I thought that I could take care of gathering the fresh ingredients, at least, and make myself useful."

"I'm sorry I was later than I'd anticipated," Severus said as they started down the hall past the staff room to the stairs that led to the dungeons.

"That's fine. When you weren't in your office or your lab when I went down at about twenty past seven...that was when I had all the ingredients together, so I was a bit early...I just went up to my office to wait. I was glad you came in through the front doors, though. If you'd come in by a back way, I'd not have seen you. But I was planning on coming down again at eight, anyway."

"Thank you."

A group of first- and second-year Slytherins were coming up the stairs towards them, chattering and paying no attention to anything else. Severus glared at them. The students immediately moved to one side, single file, to allow Severus and Poppy to pass.

"I sometimes think their parents teach them no manners at all," Severus grumbled.

"They're children. They live in their own world," Poppy said. "We just move through it, from their perspective."

"And then they become teenagers and it gets worse," Severus said, a scowl still on his face.

Poppy chuckled. "Yes, it does, but thankfully, it's a phase that passes for us all...or for most of us, anyway. And some of the students really are delightful, under the right circumstances. Most of them, in fact."

"Hmph." Severus shook his head. He supposed he just never saw them in the right circumstances. His miserable luck. Perhaps he should take some of the potion he was brewing, he thought with a smirk. It might cure it. "You are probably right."

"Those are nice looking plants," Poppy remarked. "They're an unusual colour."

Severus nodded. "According to Birnbaum, the leaves start out dark green, and then before the plant flowers, they turn purple. Presumably, this is a cyclic event."

"What are they?"

"Commemoratum tyrensis," Severus said. "A Memory Plant hybrid. Murdoch McGonagall has been the sole Potions master brewing with it up until now."

"That must be exciting for you, being one of the first to experiment with it," Poppy said.

Severus nodded. "Indeed. I find myself more genuinely interested in experimenting than I have in a long time. My experiments in recent years were not ones of my own choosing, nor ones I would have chosen at all, for the most part."

"It was good of Johannes to give you three plants," Poppy said. "He is so sweet. In addition to being a brilliant Herbologist, he's a very warm and generous man."

"He spoke highly of you, as well," Severus replied. "He said that you were one of his students and later, a colleague."

"Yes. He taught me the last few years I was a student, after Professor Beery, and then he left Hogwarts in around fifty-eight, I think. I came to Hogwarts as matron in fifty-four. Not to sound morbid or unkind, but I could scarcely wait for Madam Valentius to either retire or kick-the-cauldron."

"She was the mediwitch here before you?"

"Yes. She was perfectly competent, and quite a jolly sort of person...and she was quite helpful to me when I applied to St. Mungo's for mediwitch training...but she wasn't always very current in her practices. Besides, I just wanted this job rather madly."

Severus thought of how he would never have applied for a job at Hogwarts if the Dark Lord hadn't commanded it. And then even after the Dark Lord had been defeated the first time, he'd had to stay on as a spy...and to be kept an eye on. Severus knew that one of the reasons Dumbledore had been able to keep him from going to Azkaban wasn't just his assurance to the Wizengamot that he'd been the Order's spy, but the fact that Dumbledore had also told them that he would be teaching at Hogwarts under his supervision. It had coincided with his own wish for vengeance on the Dark Lord and to escape punishment for his own misdeeds, so he had never considered any other option...even if there had been another for him.

"What was Hogwarts like then, when you first started working here?" Severus asked, moving from thoughts of his own dark past to ones of Poppy and her enthusiasm for her job.

"Much the same, really, but those first years I was matron, there were no obvious threats to the wizarding world. No Dark Wizards out to tyrannise us all, or try to. It was well after Grindelwald and before Voldemort, before there were even whispers of a powerful new Dark Wizard, so by contrast, it felt pretty carefree. And unlike after the Riddle Wars, the Grindelwald war only indirectly affected us at Hogwarts. It had been a frightening time, of course, and some British wizards and witches were killed, but most of them not on British soil, and certainly not at Hogwarts itself, so the aftereffects were different than they were after Voldemort. It felt like a good and hopeful time, filled with promise for the future. Dippet was Headmaster, and he was a bit more of a traditionalist than Dumbledore was. Wore his ceremonial Headmaster's robes to dinner several times a week, and always on Sunday, and at other times, too, especially if there were visitors. He was very serious about rank and seniority and all that sort of thing, but he didn't have a lot of backbone. Gave the Board of Governors whatever they wanted, usually."

"I have to stop in my office for a moment," Severus said as they reached it. He would have to speak with Twiskett about getting some house-elves to help him clear it out and make it less gruesome. It had never bothered him before, but now as he unlocked the door and gave his nonverbal password, he felt embarrassed to have Poppy come in and see his macabre collection. He suddenly felt it was infantile to have the various desiccated or floating preserved specimens on display. They belonged in a cupboard, not on open shelves...those that shouldn't just be chucked in the bin. It was a puerile method of making students uncomfortable and emphasising his Dark nature. The first shouldn't be necessary...he could make them uncomfortable enough without relying on props to do it...and the second was something he now preferred to minimise, not emphasise.

"Anyway, Hogwarts wasn't that different back then, really," Poppy said. "Just a little more relaxed in some ways and a little less relaxed in others. A lot more Slytherins on staff, though. Around half, I think."

"Mm. Interesting." He stood against the door to his office with his hand resting on the handle. "I only need to get the potions text. You go on and I'll be right behind you," Severus said.

"No, that's okay. I'll wait," Poppy replied. She noted Severus's slight grimace, there and gone again. "Unless there's some specific reason you don't want me to...did you leave your Playwizard magazines out or something?"

Severus twitched a slight smile. "No...and I don't have any to leave out, if you wish to know."

"I was just joking," Poppy said, standing in the doorway as Severus entered his office and picked up the book from his desk. "But you did seem oddly uncomfortable."

Severus shrugged one shoulder and muttered, "Parakeet." He opened his right-hand drawer.

"Parakeet?" Poppy asked.

"Password. Which I'll now have to change, since you repeated it so loudly. With the door open."

"I didn't think you wanted me in here, for whatever reason," Poppy replied, stepping in and closing the door behind her. She watched him with a teasing grin. "If it's not Playwizard, perhaps Playwitch?"

"You also made that suggestion far too loudly," Severus grumbled. He pulled out a leather-bound book. "If a student had heard..."

"They might think that I had a strange sense of humour or maybe even that we're actually full adult human beings with interests that go beyond..."

"Making their lives miserable?" Severus asked, closing the drawer and warding it again.

Poppy laughed. "There was no one around, anyway."

"I know." Severus looked at her. He sighed and smiled wryly, then gestured at his shelves. "Playwizard would preferable to these."

Poppy looked around. "These are pretty disgusting." She stepped closer to one shelf. "Is that a..."

"Yes," Severus interrupted.

Poppy made a face. "I don't want to know where you got it or what you intend to do with it."

"Nothing. That is, it is just for . . . display."

Poppy shuddered. "I prefer it when you decorate with candles and flowers."

"I'm going to clear it out. When you return from your holiday, I hope to have the office a place where you can come without having to avoid looking at anything too closely."

"I have been here before, remember. It's not as though I don't know not to examine any of your specimens too closely," Poppy said. "You didn't need to be embarrassed about it."

"It wasn't just that," Severus replied. "I also . . . I don't want you to associate me with anything disgusting, like the, um, specimen."

"I do think of your collection when I think of your office," Poppy said as Severus let them out of the office, then closed and warded the door behind them, "but I don't automatically think of it when I think of you."

"How were the students when you left them?" Severus asked, changing the subject.

"Fine...as fine as could be expected. At least their physical injuries were easily mended," Poppy replied. "Pomona and Filius said that they would take turns watching them in the infirmary until we have the potion ready to administer. The ones who were bitten by more than one of the creatures are worse off, of course, poor dears, but as long as they lie still and don't try to do anything, they're fine. Have you brewed this potion before?"

Severus shook his head. "No, but it appears fairly straightforward. I consulted three different texts, and there don't appear to be any very tricky stages, though there are many ingredients. Have you brewed it?"

"I don't think so, but it's been a while since I brewed much more than Headache Potion, my version of an anti-indigestion remedy, and a couple other personal potions. I don't know whether I'd remember brewing it...or helping with it, since I doubt I'd brew it on my own. It didn't look familiar, though."

"After the initial steps, there is a brewing phase of one hour and thirty minutes during which it needs to be stirred only twice until the final ingredients are added and the next steps are taken."

"Yes, I noticed that when I was looking at the formula. I thought it would be good for you to have some company whilst you waited," Poppy said, smiling up at him.

Severus waved a hand to light the torches in the narrow stairway ahead of them and looked down and returned her smile. "That was my thought, as well. And rather yours than anyone else's," he added softly.

Poppy seemed to glow with pleasure. "I also thought that with my help preparing the ingredients, the brewing might go a bit faster."

Severus nodded. "How are you at pulverising?"

She laughed. "Fine, I guess. Haven't really considered it. Better at grinding than macerating, I suppose." She let out a short chuckle. "Did that sound as suggestive to you as it did to me?"

Severus didn't hide his amusement. "Grinding . . . yes, I would say you might be talented at that." He lowered his voice. "You do the grinding . . . and I will do the macerating."

Poppy chuckled. "It sounds even more suggestive when you say it," she whispered.

Severus raised an eyebrow and looked down at her, a glint in his eye. "If you find that suggestive, I can think of a few other things I might say, then, once we begin . . . brewing."

Severus's voice gave Poppy shivers, and she shook her head with a smile. "You can do that, Severus...although you may find that we become too distracted to do any brewing."

Severus smirked. "There is brewing, and there is brewing."

Laughing, Poppy said, "You're the Potions master, and this is your domain. I'll be happy to learn more about such distinctions from you."

They stopped at an old, scarred oak door, and Severus drew his wand. After a pass of his wand, which caused the door to glow, he turned a large key in the lock. Finally, he grasped the door handle and used his nonverbal password charm before pressing down and pulling the door open.

"Shall I set out the ingredients I brought?" Poppy asked as she stepped into the long, narrow room.

"Yes, there to the left," Severus said, setting his books and the crate down on a low bench, then crossing the room to a cabinet and opening it.

"What's the other book?" Poppy asked as she took each of the ingredients from her basket and placed them on the left side of the tall workbench.

"Journal. It's a new one I haven't used much. McGonagall gave it to me; I've used it when I've done any brewing. Fresh start. My old one I keep locked up down here." He quickly removed three jars and Levitated them over to the tall workbench. He bent over and looked at the lower shelves, then swore softly under his breath.

"That word was more than just suggestive," Poppy said, raising an eyebrow, "but it didn't sound like a happy suggestion. What's wrong?"

Severus straightened and shook his head. "I forgot to restock the Fwooper eggshells. I used the last of them . . . just before Christmas, I think. I haven't needed them since. I haven't done very much brewing the last few months."

"Oh, dear . . . it's after eight, but we could Apparate to Edinburgh. I'm sure we could get some from Murdoch. He'd open his shop for us."

Severus shook his head. "Not necessary. I have some in the potions cupboard near the classroom. If I had remembered, we wouldn't be wasting time going back up for it."

"I can start preparing the ingredients whilst you fetch it," Poppy offered. When he hesitated, she said, "Or I could go up and get the Fwooper eggshells for us."

"That would be best. The password is absurdity."

Poppy nodded. "All right. I'll be quick about it." She paused at the door. "Where are the shells in the cupboard?"

"The Fwooper shells are in the back, to the left, second shelf from the bottom. You may have to move a few things aside that may have got in front of them."

"Okay. And it wouldn't be easier for you to find them?"

"I . . . I prefer to prepare the ingredients. Choose the Memory Plant hybrid leaves, measure out the other ingredients, review the formula, begin chopping, and so on."

Poppy put her hand on the door handle. "I wondered why you'd hesitated. But that makes sense."

"Poppy...it's not a matter of trust. But I have my methods. I am sure you could prepare the ingredients adequately, but it will be more efficient if I begin it. There are many ingredients in this particular potion . . . laying them out..."

"Really, it's fine, Severus. One of us has to get the eggshells, and it is perfectly sensible for me to do it. This is a small lab with a small workbench. I'm sure you have a method worked out for organising everything, and you could do it faster." She smiled. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Poppy had no trouble finding the Fwooper eggshells, although she did have to move aside a brown jar labelled "Chirzpurfle fangs." As she hurried back to the stairs leading down to the level where Severus's lab was located, she heard someone in hard-soled boots walking quickly behind her.

"Poppy!"

She turned. "Gareth? What are you doing here? No more trouble for your mother, I hope."

"No, I'm looking for Severus. I went to his rooms and checked his office, but he didn't seem to be in."

"Come with me. He's in his lab. We had an incident with some Mackled Malaclaws today, so we're brewing a potion. I was just fetching one of the ingredients."

"Fwooper eggshells...you're brewing Clades Refragor Syrup? That one takes a few hours. It's rather a bore to brew unless you're brewing other things at the same time. Have to stay there and watch it and stir at intervals," Gareth said.

"You've brewed it before?"

"The last year that I lived with Robert, there was a bad problem with Mackled Malaclaw bites. More than usual. We brewed that potion and a couple others. I'd have a few batches going at the same time, staggered, so that I kept busier."

"How is your mother?"

"I just came from the estate. She seems well enough, I suppose. She ate a good dinner and didn't lock herself away in her room after, and usually when she's upset, she doesn't eat much, so I thought that was a good sign. She was shaken, though."

"Understandably. You know, if they brought in every witch or wizard who had reason to harbour ill feelings toward Death Eaters, they'd have to bring in more than half the population, I'm sure."

"We won. What's the point of this? Yeah, I'll never add Lucius Malfoy to my Christmas card list, but it sure seems a waste of energy to be going after people like that. And some of the victims...I just pity Pettigrew's family. Thinking all those years that he'd been a hero murdered by Sirius Black, only to discover that he was right at the centre of it all. And whatever Pettigrew may have said to Harry and Lupin about how scared he was of the Dark Lord, that's no excuse for everything else he did after the Potters were murdered. And the little rat was actually out there looking for that scumbag of a master. Who knows how long it would have taken Riddle to gain corporeal strength and a new body if it weren't for Pettigrew. But at this point, to go after these alleged Death Eaters and collaborators, it just doesn't make any sense to me."

"I agree, but pain and loss can affect different people differently," Poppy said. "Have you seen Miss Granger?"

"Yeah, she had dinner with us. She went to her parents' for the night. They live not very far from the Gamp estate, funnily enough. I should have thought to send her a message this afternoon. I guess she was worried."

"Severus told her what was going on."

"I know. She told me."

Poppy knocked on the door to Severus's lab, and it opened to them.

"Severus, I brought someone with me," she said as she stepped in. Severus looked up from his scales, his expression blank, and Poppy presumed he was hiding annoyance. "Gareth was looking for you," she added quickly.

Gareth stepped in behind Poppy. "Hi, Snape."

Severus looked from McGonagall to Poppy and back again. "McGonagall. This is unexpected. I trust there are no further crises?"

Gareth stepped further into the room. "I wanted to thank you for your help today, and to apologise if I was rude or said anything that was out-of-line."

Severus twitched one shoulder. "It was understandable. You were emotional."

"I still am. I'm grateful to you. Moody said you were the one who realised the aspect that cleared Mum."

Severus turned to face them fully, crossing his arms. "I am uncomfortable with this conversation, McGonagall. Moody shouldn't have said anything."

"It meant a lot to me, anyway," Gareth said, stepping closer. "Thanks, Severus. Really. Thank you." He threw one arm around Severus and pulled him into an embrace. "Thanks."

Grimacing, Severus easily but gently pushed Gareth back and stepped away. "I am glad that your mother was sent home, Gareth. And that I could help you today. We need to brew this potion, though, and you need to go home. Go home and have a drink. Get some sleep. I'll see you later this week."

Gareth nodded. "Right. Right." He looked over at Poppy, who was standing just inside the room, then looked back at Severus. "Yeah, you two have fun brewing the Refragor Syrup. I'll see you later this week, right, Snape?"

Severus nodded. He gave Gareth a quick pat on the upper arm. "Owl me."

Gareth turned to leave. He gave Poppy a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, then he paused outside the door. "You're making Clades Refragor, right? You may already know this trick, Snape, but when Robert had me brewing it, he had me pulverise the Fwooper eggshells and the powdered moonstone together. It seems to make the potion take effect faster...and it's even a little faster to prepare it that way."

Severus nodded. "Thanks."

"See you, Poppy."

Poppy nodded and squeezed his arm. "Good night, Gareth."

After he'd left and Poppy had closed the door, she said, "That was nice of him to come up and thank you, Severus."

"Mm. I suppose." Severus gestured toward the potions ingredients. "I've made a start here. Could you shave the marshmallow root into this, and then I'll measure it and macerate it with the garlic and the armadillo bile."

Poppy nodded. "And then I can grind the Fwooper eggshells. The text I looked at said to a fine powder. Is that what you'd like?"

"Yes, a fine powder. And McGonagall's right, it probably would be good to grind the eggshells and the powdered moonstone together, so I'll do that."

"I could..."

"There's a technique for grinding such things together, Poppy."

"I am aware of that...you and I had the same Potions teacher, and I also used to help Murdoch in the apothecary, remember."

Severus hesitated. "We're making two batches of the potion, anyway. I'll prepare it for the hybrid potion, and you prepare it for the standard. Just watch what I do before you begin."

"That sounds like a good idea," Poppy agreed.

They worked quietly together for a while, occasionally handing each other a knife or different sized pestle, or passing ingredients back and forth.

"This is nice," Poppy said.

Severus nodded. "It is." He looked over at Poppy and smiled down at her. "I do appreciate the help. The company and the help. I am not the easiest person in the lab."

Poppy chuckled. "You aren't the easiest person in many places, Sev, but I'm quite happy with you."

He leaned over and gave her a swift kiss on the temple. "Thanks. I know there's room for improvement."

"If I can be honest with you, though . . ."

"Yes?"

"I thought you were a little cool with Gareth just now. I think it was very sweet of him to come up to the castle and apologise and tell you how much he appreciated your help today."

Severus shook his head slightly. "It was. You are right. But his timing was poor. And . . . I did not wish to be thanked. I wish Moody hadn't said anything about me at all."

"Why not? I think it shows that Moody's come around and wants to give you your due. I know you two have had a lot of problems in the past...and more than just a few small differences between you. Last spring, I overheard Minerva and Robbie talking. I know that Moody was the one who hexed you in the back that time. I think it's very noble of you to have forgiven him. I'm not sure I have yet, actually. That was a terrible thing."

Severus snorted. "I haven't forgiven him. I've just . . . just let it go. Moody apologised. He came to see me this autumn. He said he'd been wrong. I think . . . I think that if I held onto my resentment, anger, and bitterness, I'd never be able to let go of who I was then, either, and that is more important to me than retribution." He looked over at Poppy. "You're most important to me, Poppy, more important than anything else in my life. If I held onto my hatred toward Moody, I'm afraid that there wouldn't be room for . . . for . . . for my feelings for you, and that I wouldn't be anyone whom you'd want to spend two minutes with."

"You're important to me, too, Severus. More than just important, you know."

"I hope so." He looked down at the beebalm leaves he was mashing. "We can begin the first phase of brewing in a few minutes. Would you like to do one of them? Then the one I begin, I'll continue with, using the Commemoratum leaves at the next stage."

"Yes, I'd like to." Poppy gave a crooked grin. "Do you remember when you were sick your second year of teaching? During the outbreak of Brocket's fever?"

"Yes."

"And Albus had me take your classes?"

Severus sighed. "I remember."

"You made such a fit, he taught them himself instead. He came in during the middle of second-year double Potions with Gryffindor and Slytherin and he sent me back up to the infirmary. He was discreet about it, but it was still embarrassing."

"I'm sorry. I just . . . I didn't really know you back then. And I was unhappy having anyone taking my classes. I just thought . . ."

"You thought I was a silly, barely competent school matron who couldn't make it as a mediwitch at St. Mungo's, so she came up here to look after dunderheads who fall off their broomsticks and eat too many sweets, I believe you said."

"I'm sorry. I was sick. I was in a bad mood." He gave a snort. "I was always in a bad mood. But I paid for it. Albus had my classes brewing absurd concoctions of no practical use and with no application to their examination preparation. You had been following the lesson plan, much to my surprise. I learned a little something there."

"But Albus never had me take your classes again," Poppy said as she set out a silver number three-sized cauldron and Summoned a glass stirring rod from the rack on the wall above the workbench.

"My eternal punishment for having once dismissed your assistance," Severus said with a dramatic sigh. "Poetic justice, or something."

Poppy laughed loudly at that. "That's all right. I would only be able to do it on a very short-term basis, anyway...aside from the fact that I have my own duties, it was a lot of work to prepare. That was what ticked me off, actually. I'd stayed up until two in the morning preparing for the day's classes and starting preparations for the next day. I'd wanted to do a good job, and I didn't even get through three classes. It turned out to have been a complete waste of my time."

"I will inform Minerva that if I am ever indisposed for a short period, then you may take my classes, if you are available."

"You don't have to do that. Besides, I think that this autumn when Albus took your classes, he actually taught from the lesson plan."

"He probably was told to by the Headmistress," Severus said with a smile. "She has really taken the reins...of the school, I mean. Not his."

Poppy chuckled. "Between you and me, I wouldn't be surprised if she actually takes his reins sometimes, if you know what I mean."

Severus smirked. "She's told you that?"

"Well . . . she's not one to talk about details, but . . ." Poppy shrugged, still grinning as she finished mashing her beebalm.

"I once walked in on them...they weren't in the middle of anything, understand...but Dumbledore had this strap thing tied around his wrist, and he was wearing one of her robes. I had a hard time getting that image out of my head. Still can't," he said.

"Oh, so you just had to share it with me?" Poppy asked with a laugh. "Thanks very much for that! But I know that Minerva has said they enjoy livening things up. I presume they do some kind of role-playing or something. That's perfectly normal and can be a lot of fun, but it is an odd thing to think about one's friends in that way."

"Especially Dumbledore...though I don't know why. It just . . . makes me uncomfortable."

"Like thinking about your parents together, probably...not that Minerva is like that for you, but maybe Albus is," Poppy suggested. "And with your feelings for Minerva, that might make it more uncomfortable."

"I suppose that Albus has become something of a father-figure for me. I'm not sure whether our relationship . . . whether it's always been particularly positive, but I think that even when it wasn't, he was . . . a paternal figure to me. But Minerva..." He shook his head. "Perhaps that contributes to my discomfort in thinking about them that way, but I really don't feel for her the same as I did under the Adfectus, you know."

"The Adfectus exaggerates and heightens the feelings you have for someone, increases the sexual component, but you have to love the person, love them truly, or it doesn't take effect," Poppy replied.

Severus shrugged. He didn't want to talk about his feelings for Minerva, with Poppy or with anyone else.

"Is this right?" Poppy asked as she began stirring anticlockwise as she added the macerated ingredients to the cauldron.

Severus looked over and nodded. "Yes. Add that mixture very gradually, then finish by stirring in the crushed Alihotsy leaves. You can add another teaspoon of aloe sap after the Alihotsy leaves, but don't stir it in."

"That wasn't in the text I looked at. The extra aloe, I mean."

"It is a bit of a trick," Severus said. "It works well with a number of multistage potions, and not just with aloe, but with other ingredients of similar consistency."

"That's not bad," Poppy said with a nod. "I'll remember that."

"Just don't try it with an animal-based ingredient or mineral oils. Vegetable derivatives, though," Severus said, "they generally work well this way."

Simultaneously, the two reached for their crushed Alihotsy leaves.

"The two potions should be finished at the same time," Poppy said.

"Mm. That was the point. Now here, just a half dozen clockwise stirs...the texts usually give some imprecise instruction at this point, and you'd likely stir it too much if you tried following the text."

Poppy nodded and carefully stirred in the crushed leaves using only a half dozen clockwise stirs. "Now the aloe sap?"

"Yes. Just let it float on top. It will incorporate itself slowly before we even do the next stirring," Severus said.

They both set their glass stirring rods down on their trays.

"We stir again in twenty-two minutes?" Poppy asked, turning to look at the open textbook.

"Yes," Severus said. He was casting a charm on an hourglass. "I set this for twenty-one minutes. It will chime then, and we'll have a minute to get to the cauldrons and begin stirring."

Poppy sat down on the low wooden bench. "So you have about twenty minutes to teach me more about the distinctions between brewing and brewing."

Severus smiled, his eyes gleaming. "First, brewing requires a firm workbench. Brewing does not. Stand." When Poppy stood, Severus swished his wand through the air in a wide arc. The low backless bench became a well-cushioned love seat with emerald green upholstery.

Poppy blinked. "Very impressive."

"I've been watching Dumbledore do it for a couple decades," Severus replied with a shrug. "Now for the brewing."

Severus embraced Poppy, kissed her, and pulled her with him down onto the love seat. Pulling her closer, he broke the kiss and whispered in her ear. "And there is macerating and macerating. I would like to do a little macerating with you. Your lips are perfect . . . perfect."

He demonstrated his appreciation for the perfection of her lips by kissing them slowly and sensually, only briefly and teasingly touching the tip of her tongue with his. Poppy could feel herself growing warmer; her tingling grew and her desire increased. His hands only held her, though, gently moving over her back and side, and did not stray to the centre of her warmth. His kisses continued their sensual teasing, until finally with a moan, Poppy swung her left leg over Severus's and slid onto his lap, straddling him and pressing herself against his thigh.

Severus slid her closer, and she could feel his growing erection pressed into her crux. She gasped and pulled her head back.

"You were going to demonstrate your grinding technique for me, I believe," Severus said in a low voice. "This is a very nice start, Madam Pomfrey. Oh, yes, a very nice start." He cupped her buttocks with one hand and jerked her toward him, then he leaned forward and began kissing and sucking the tender skin of her throat.

"Severus, you are . . . oh, gods! You are a tease, you know that, don't you?" Poppy moaned and began to rock, rocking and sliding against him.

"Oh, you are very good at grinding, Poppy, oh, yes, so good," Severus murmured, licking her earlobe. "Can you come? I think you can come. I want to see you come, my love, come against me. Don't stop." His breath was hot in her ear.

Poppy's pace quickened, and she could feel the increasing pressure of her impending orgasm. "Oh, Severus, you are so bad. We weren't going to . . ."

"We aren't," Severus rasped. "Just keep going. You feel good. Don't stop. You're so good." He sucked her earlobe then nipped her neck.

Just as Poppy thought she could take no more and was about come, there was a sharp rap on the door. She froze. The knock was repeated.

"Damn! Who could that be?" Poppy asked, placing her forehead against Severus's shoulder as she tried to catch her breath.

"I don't know...Albus, Minerva, Gareth...don't stop," he whispered. "They'll go away. Don't stop."

The knocking began again.

"They aren't leaving," Poppy said, moving very reluctantly off Severus's lap.

"Don't stop," Severus said, trying to pull her back onto his lap.

"Severus?" Minerva's voice came faintly through the heavy oak door.

Poppy sighed. "You'd better get it."

"I have an erection the size of Ben Nevis."

Minerva's voice came again.

"I doubt she'll be looking at your crotch." Poppy straightened her robe and pinny.

Severus rolled his eyes, but stood and crossed over to the door. When he opened it, Minerva was beginning to walk away.

"Headmistress."

"Severus, I thought you were back. Have you seen Albus? Did he return with you?"

"Of course he did. I wouldn't just leave him there after telling you I'd make sure he came back with me."

"I haven't seen him yet."

"Did you check his office?"

Minerva nodded. "And his playroom and his classroom. I also stuck my head through to Filius, and he's not with him, either."

Severus blinked, clearing his head and thinking. "He stopped to talk to Hagrid. They were in his strawberry patch."

Poppy stepped around Severus. "He's probably just still down with Hagrid and lost track of time, Minerva."

"Probably," Minerva said, though she still looked concerned.

"We didn't get back to the grounds until almost eight, either," Severus said. "It just feels longer to you."

"Would you like me to go with you out to Hagrid's and check, Min?" Poppy asked. "Then if he's not there, we can both look for him."

"He wouldn't have left the grounds alone," Severus said. "I think everyone's agreed to abide by your new rule."

Minerva's mouth was a tight line. "He does not always include himself among 'everyone,' though, you know that."

"I'll go with you," Poppy said, putting a hand on Minerva's arm. "I don't think he'd leave the grounds alone without telling you. He probably just became involved in a conversation and lost track of time."

"You're right. But you stay here. I know you two were brewing the potion tonight."

"Severus can stir both cauldrons, and I can come back to help him finish them," Poppy said.

The chime sounded.

"I need to stir the potions," Severus said. "You do as you think best, Poppy."

Poppy stood in the doorway, torn. "I'll be back as quickly as I can. I'm sure Albus will be easy to find."

"Good night, Minerva." Severus turned to the workbench and picked up the two glass stirring rods.

"Sev...I'll be back."

Severus nodded. "And I'll see you when you return, then."

The door closed behind the two witches. Severus bit his lip, then took in a deep breath and let it out. "Bloody fucking Merlin's saggy balls! Albus-fucking-Dumbledore, you screwed up yet another one of my evenings!"

Severus swore a few more times, took one more deep breath, let it out, felt better, and began to stir the two cauldrons. He took a little comfort in noting that there was no discernible difference between the two potions, and that Poppy's was identical in colour, consistency, and fragrance to his potion.

Poppy was a good witch. A good witch, good with potions, and a good friend. Severus just wished that, for just that one evening, she wasn't quite as good a friend to Minerva . . . and was a slightly better friend to him. Albus was probably just off playing tiddly-winks or Gobstones or something . . . bloody childish old wizard. He could have let his wife know that he was back on the grounds so she wouldn't worry. Minerva shouldn't have to put up with that.

Severus sighed and stirred. When Poppy returned, he'd have to tell her that in his expert opinion, she rated an Outstanding in her grinding skills. And potions-making, too. In the meantime, he'd stir the potions and wait for her.